The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) yesterday issued a ruling on whether lawyers are required to be present at real estate closings. In Real Estate Bar Association v. National Estate Information Services, the Court held that, although non-lawyer "conveyancing" companies that provide closing services are not practicing law, they nevertheless are prohibited from providing closing services, because those must be provided by a lawyer. Major media outlets have covered the ruling as the resolution of a turf battle between lawyers and non-lawyers in providing services. That's certainly one aspect of the case, but it also has important implications for legal consumers in Massachusetts, both in real estate transactions and in other legal matters.